Petrol prices soars

Petrol prices soars

Unleaded could soon hit a whopping £5.41 a gallon, according to research by the AA.

The motoring organisation is urging Alistair Darling to delay the introduction of a planned 3p increase in petrol duty due to come in on April 1.

AA President Edmund King said: “The UK is barely out of recession, yet petrol prices threaten to rise to record levels seen during the boom of 2008.

“If families, drivers on fixed incomes and those on low pay were unable to cope with record prices then, they are even less likely now.”

The price of £5.41 a gallon – 120p a litre – tops the previous petrol high of 119.7p in July 2008. AA research found an average family with two cars is paying a huge £52 a month more to fill up now than it did a year ago.

The average petrol price in the UK is 115.9p for a litre of unleaded and 116.6p for a litre of diesel, according to www.petrolprices.com.

The AA said the price increases were caused by the rise in the wholesale price of petrol since the end of January.

Lindsay Hoyle, the senior Labour MP on the Commons business select committee, said it was “a complete disgrace”.

He added: “Yes, crude oil has gone up this year, but nothing like the rise in petrol prices. Motorists are being legally mugged at the forecourt by petrol companies.”